Page 57 of Reckless Princess (Knight's Ridge Empire 8)

“Not that bit, obviously.” She cuts me off. “Toby going all hot possessive alpha on your arse.”

“Are you saying that the first thing you’d do if Nico shot a man right in front of you would be to jump him?” I ask, although I’m not sure why. I already know the answer.

“Hell yes. Although, Nico is unlikely to be trying to protect my virtue.”

“Oh, he totally would,” I argue.

“Meh, whatever. Brad came around last night. I’ve forgotten Nico even exists.”

“Good night, huh?”

“Yeah, he did this new thing that—”

“Whoa, I’ve not had coffee yet. It’s certainly too early for your kinky shit.”

“Fine,” she sulks. “But you’re the one who’s missing out.”

“I’m sure I’ll cope. What are you doing today?”

“Aside from resting my poor vag? I need to go into town. I ripped my trousers right up the arse at school yesterday.”

“You did not,” I bark, unable to get that visual out of my head.

“Sadly, it’s true. Did you know the teachers’ lost property is almost as bad as the kids’ when you forget your PE kit? I ended up spending the rest of the day in this old granny skirt circa nineteen forty-five.”

“Oh my God,” I laugh, suddenly realising just how much I needed to talk to my best friend. The lightness she offers me is priceless.

“Thank fuck it’s only a temporary placement. There’s no way I could ever get a full-time job there after that.”

“The kids have probably already forgotten. Teenagers have better things to worry about than seeing their teacher’s arse.”

“I was wearing that underwear set we bought last time we went shopping. You remember the one with the—”

“Yes,” I laugh, now understanding a little more why she’s so mortified by this whole thing. “Why the hell did you wear that?”

“I was meeting Brad straight after work and it’s been a long week, so I was hoping to get to the stress relief part of the evening sooner rather than later.”

“Well, it seems like he might have worked his magic.”

“He met me here, seeing as I couldn’t possibly go to the restaurant in what I was wearing. We never made our reservation.”

“What are you like?”

“So you’re telling me you never graciously thanked your sexy rescuer?”

I blow out a long breath before telling her how the rest of our night, and morning, went.

“Jojo, how could you do that?” she asks when I tell her about making him leave.

“I’ve messaged him asking if we can talk. I think it’s time.”

We chat for a little longer before she tells me she’s going for a bath to soothe her aching body and that she’ll call me before shopping in case I feel up to joining her.

I lower the phone from my ear with hope filling my veins that I’m going to have a reply.

But there’s nothing.

And when I open the chat, my message still hasn’t even been delivered.